Dr. Yung-In Choi's specialty is adult endocrinology. Dr. Choi speaks Korean. He is affiliated with UC Irvine Health Gottschalk Medical Plaza. He graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine. Dr. Choi's medical residency was performed at Henry Ford Hospital. Patient reviews placed him at an average of 3.5 stars out of 5. He accepts several insurance carriers, including Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield.

Dr. Andrew Reikes is a specialist in adult endocrinology. He works in Orange, CA and Irvine, CA. He studied medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), School of Medicine. His training includes a residency program at Huntington Memorial Hospital. Dr. Reikes's areas of expertise include diabetes, osteoporosis, and thyroid cancer. He accepts Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield, as well as other insurance carriers. He has received distinctions including Recipient, ARISE Award for Excellence; Recognition Award "Best Doctors of Orange County"; and Recognition Award "America's Best Doctors". Dr. Reikes's professional affiliations include UC Irvine Health Gottschalk Medical Plaza and UC Irvine Medical Center.

Dr. Ping Wang sees patients in Irvine, CA and Orange, CA. His medical specialty is adult endocrinology. These areas are among Dr. Wang's clinical interests: diabetes, thyroid problems, and pituitary disorders. He is in-network for Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield, as well as other insurance carriers. Before completing his residency at Boston VA Medical Center, Dr. Wang attended medical school at Kaohsiung Medical University. Dr. Wang has received the following distinctions: America's Top Doctors (Diabetes, Thyroid Disorders), Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.; Best Doctors in America; and (Endocrinology and Metabolism). He speaks Taiwanese. His professional affiliations include UC Irvine Health Gottschalk Medical Plaza and UC Irvine Medical Center.

Dr. Jeffrey Punim is an adult endocrinologist. Areas of expertise for Dr. Punim include diabetes, thyroid problems, and metabolism. He has a 2.0 out of 5 star average patient rating. Dr. Punim accepts several insurance carriers, including AARP, Anthem, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Dr. Punim studied medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine. He trained at Maimonides Medical Center and a hospital affiliated with Temple University for residency. He is professionally affiliated with Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center and Greater Newport Physicians (GNP). He welcomes new patients.

Dr. Priya Shah is an adult endocrinology specialist. Areas of expertise for Dr. Shah include diabetes, disorders of calcium metabolism, and pituitary disorders. Dr. Shah's professional affiliations include VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS), St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP), and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA). She is in-network for Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Viant, in addition to other insurance carriers. Dr. Shah obtained her medical school training at the University of Southern California (USC), Keck School of Medicine and performed her residency at a hospital affiliated with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In addition to English, she speaks Spanish.

Dr. Ivy-Joan Madu's area of specialization is adult endocrinology. Dr. Madu (or staff) speaks the following foreign languages: Nigerian and Spanish. Her clinical interests include diabetes, thyroid problems, and osteoporosis. She is professionally affiliated with Greater Newport Physicians (GNP), St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP), and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA). Her education and training includes medical school at the University of Lagos College of Medicine and the University of Benin School of Medicine and residency at Methodist Hospital and Albany Medical Center. Her average patient rating is 3.0 stars out of 5. Dr. Madu accepts several insurance carriers, including Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Viant. Her practice is open to new patients.

Dr. Michael Tran's area of specialization is endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism. Patient reviews placed him at an average of 3.5 stars out of 5. Dr. Tran's clinical interests include disorders of calcium metabolism, diabetes, and thyroid problems. He is affiliated with St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA). He takes Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Blue Shield, and more. Dr. Tran obtained his medical school training at Creighton University School of Medicine and performed his residency at St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach. Dr. Tran (or staff) speaks the following languages: Spanish and Vietnamese.

Dr. Artak Labadzhyan is a specialist in adult endocrinology. In addition to English, he speaks Armenian. Areas of expertise for Dr. Labadzhyan include disorders of calcium metabolism, cushing's disease, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Dr. Labadzhyan is professionally affiliated with Cedars-Sinai. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine and then he performed his residency at a hospital affiliated with the University of California, Irvine. He is in-network for Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield, as well as other insurance carriers. Distinctions awarded to Dr. Labadzhyan include: Member, Endocrine Society Resident of the Year; Gustave D. Suffin, MD, Award for Excellence in Neuroscience; and Clinical Fellows Award for Excellence in Research.

Dr. Herbert Rettinger specializes in adult endocrinology and practices in Orange, CA. Dr. Rettinger is rated 3.5 stars out of 5 by his patients. His clinical interests include obesity, diabetes, and menopause. He is affiliated with St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP) and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA). He honors several insurance carriers, including Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Medi-Cal. After attending St. Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Rettinger completed his residency training at a hospital affiliated with the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Bachar Kurdi works as an endocrinologist in Fountain Valley, CA. His areas of expertise include the following: diabetes, obesity, and sexual dysfunction. His patients gave him an average rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars. Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield are among the insurance carriers that Dr. Kurdi accepts. Before completing his residency at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Kurdi attended medical school at the University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Kurdi (or staff) speaks the following foreign languages: Arabic and Spanish.

Dr. Alex Zand practices general internal medicine. He has received a 3.0 out of 5 star rating by his patients. His areas of expertise consist of diabetes, women's health issues, and arthritis. Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Viant, and Medi-Cal are among the insurance carriers that Dr. Zand takes. Dr. Zand studied medicine at St. George's University School of Medicine. In addition to English, Dr. Zand (or staff) speaks Spanish, Persian, and Hindi. His hospital/clinic affiliations include St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP) and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA).

Dr. Dennis Long's specialty is general internal medicine. Patients gave him an average rating of 4.0 stars out of 5. Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield are among the insurance carriers that Dr. Long accepts. Dr. Long obtained his medical school training at Wayne State University School of Medicine and performed his residency at Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati. He has received the following distinction: Physicians of Excellence, Orange County Medical Association. Dr. Long is affiliated with UC Irvine Health.

Dr. Carol Major specializes in maternal and fetal medicine (perinatology), obstetrics, and gynecology. In her practice, she is particularly interested in diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) and multiple pregnancy (e.g. twins). Dr. Major's average patient rating is 4.5 stars out of 5. She is in-network for several insurance carriers, including Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Blue Shield. Before performing her residency at a hospital affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Major attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Distinctions awarded to Dr. Major include: Best Doctors in America - Obstetrics and Gynecology; Southern California Super Doctors; and Physicians of Excellence, Orange County Medical Association. Dr. Major speaks Spanish. Her hospital/clinic affiliations include UC Irvine Medical Center, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, and St. Jude Hospital.

Dr. Victoria Greblya works as an internist. She is rated 4.5 stars out of 5 by her patients. Dr. Greblya's areas of expertise include diabetes and women's health issues. She is an in-network provider for Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Viant, in addition to other insurance carriers. After attending First Moscow Medical Institute and Kishinev State Medical Institute for medical school, she completed her residency training at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Dr. Greblya (or staff) speaks Spanish and Russian. She is professionally affiliated with HealthCare Partners IPA - South Coast, St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP), and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA).

Dr. Kusum Ohri's medical specialty is general internal medicine. These areas are among Dr. Ohri's clinical interests: diabetes and women's health issues. Patient ratings for Dr. Ohri average 3.5 stars out of 5. She honors several insurance carriers, including Anthem, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Viant. She attended Lady Hardinge Medical College for medical school and subsequently trained at a hospital affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston for residency. Dr. Ohri (or staff) is conversant in Urdu, Spanish, and Hindi. Dr. Ohri is affiliated with St. Joseph Hospital Affiliated Physicians (SJHAP) and St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA).

Endocrinology is a medical specialty that deals with glands and hormones. Hormones are substances that act like chemical messengers between parts of the body. They are produced by glands, and travel in the bloodstream throughout the body where they act on different organs and cells to affect many different functions of life. Hormones control our appetite, growth, reproduction, and energy. When there is too little or too much of a hormone, an endocrinologist can help restore the balance.

Endocrinology problems are sometimes difficult and complex because hormones travel throughout the body and can affect more than one system. A single, simple imbalance can produce multiple, very different symptoms. Just a few of the diverse diseases treated by an endocrinologist include:

Diabetes (where insulin is not produced in the body or is not working well, and blood sugar levels rise, which damages tissues)

Hypothyroidism (where thyroid hormones are not produced well, reducing cell metabolism and energy)

Precocious Puberty (where reproductive hormones are produced too early in a child’s life)

Gigantism (where growth hormones are overproduced, leading to unusual size)

Endocrinology can contain subspecialties where physicians focus their care on specific groups of patients. For example, some endocrinologists are diabetic endocrinologists who know specifically how to care for diabetics’ particular needs in eye care, circulation, and foot care. Pediatric endocrinologists treat children. Whatever their subspecialty, all endocrinologists have the same goal: restoring balance when the body’s messaging system is not working correctly.

Hormones are chemicals that are produced by the body and flow through the bloodstream. They control a number of important functions, including growth, metabolism, and sexual development. Doctors that treat hormonal problems are called endocrinologists, and endocrinologists that work with children are pediatric endocrinologists.

Pediatric endocrinologists treat children of all ages, from newborn babies to young adults. Because hormones affect growth and sexual development, endocrine disorders affect children and teens very differently than they do adults. Some disorders, such as precocious (early) puberty, only affect children. Some endocrine disorders have different symptoms in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A pediatric endocrinologist must be aware of how hormonal problems specifically affect children’s health and development.

Diabetes, a disease caused by problems with the hormone insulin, is the most common disorder treated by pediatric endocrinologists. Other issues include:

Growth disorders, which prevent children from growing or maturing as expected

Thyroid disease

Pituitary or adrenal disorders

Sex hormone disorders, where the body produces either too little or too much of the hormones that affect puberty and sexual development

Unexplained obesity

Intersex, a group of conditions that make a person's sex unclear

Vitamin D deficiency

Problems with calcium metabolism

Treatment for transgender children, who feel they do not match the gender associated with their external genitalia (many, but not all, pediatric endocrinology offices provide this service)

For most endocrine disorders, treatment involves medication taken to either supplement or suppress certain hormone levels.

Since hormones control so many functions within the body and are so crucial during the early stages of life, an endocrine disorder can be devastating for a child. Pediatric endocrinologists help get your child’s hormones back in balance.

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What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, or simply 'diabetes,' is a disease where levels of sugar in the blood become dangerously high. When food is eaten, the body converts it into a form of sugar called glucose that can be used by cells in the body for energy. An organ called the pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin that acts like a key, ‘unlocking’ cell walls so that glucose can be absorbed and used. When something in this process goes wrong, and glucose builds up to dangerous levels, diabetes happens.

There are a couple of different types of diabetes, depending on what is causing glucose levels to rise.

Type 1 diabetes happens when the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Usually diagnosed in childhood, this type used to be called juvenile diabetes. It affects about 5% of all diabetics. We don’t know what causes the pancreas to shut down, but it is thought that a virus might trigger an immune reaction, where the body attacks and destroys the pancreas by mistake. People who have relatives with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have it themselves.

Type 2 diabetes happens when the cell walls do not recognize the insulin produced very well, called insulin resistance. The pancreas can still produce insulin, but it is not effective at lowering blood sugar levels. This type of diabetes is strongly linked to being overweight. However, not everyone who is overweight will get type 2 diabetes, and not everyone who has type 2 diabetes is overweight. Other risk factors include age, race, and a family history of diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that happens in the last half of pregnancy. Women with gestational diabetes generally do not have diabetes before or after they are pregnant. The placenta produces hormones that block the action of insulin in the mother’s body. For about 18% of women, their pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to keep up with the increased demands and they become diabetic while pregnant. High blood sugar levels can be dangerous to the developing fetus, causing complications such as high birth weight, low blood sugar and jaundice, so it is important to treat gestational diabetes even if it only lasts a few weeks.

Many people currently living with diabetes do not know it yet, since mild diabetes has few or no symptoms. As blood sugar levels rise over time, symptoms begin to appear. Some include:

thirst

fatigue

frequent urination

unexplained weight loss

blurred vision

A simple blood test in the doctor’s office can diagnose diabetes.

Treatment depends on the type and severity of diabetes. Most people with type 1 diabetes rely on insulin injections to survive. Some people with type 2 or gestational diabetes also take insulin, or they may take oral medications or control their blood sugar with diet and exercise. It’s important for all diabetics to monitor their blood sugar daily so they can stay healthy.

If diabetes is not treated well, it can be dangerous, damaging the eyes, nerves, and kidneys, and leading to heart disease and the loss of limbs. However, if it is well managed, diabetes does not have to limit your life. Keeping diabetes under good control is the best way to enjoy a long and healthy life.